Salmonella and Campylobacter

More recently, a range of other quality and safety issues have been recognised by consumers and now influence poultry meat and egg buying patterns and behaviour. Most importantly this includes (i) the routine use of antibiotics as growth promoters and curative medicines and the potential for development of transferable antibiotic resistance, (ii) risk associated with enteric pathogen (e.g. Salmonella and Campylobacter) and toxin (e.g. dioxin) contaminants of poultry products, (iii) the environmental impact of poultry production and (iv) the sensory and nutritional quality of eggs and poultry meat (Menzi et al., 1997 Hamm et al., 2002 Rodenburg et al., 2004 Horsted et al., 2005). 

The main poultry health problems that may affect safety of poultry products are Salmonella and Campylobacter infections (Ogden et al, 2004a,b see... 

Present scientific evidence indicates that transmission of enteric pathogens (particularly Campylobacter) is mainly horizontal, while vertical transmission from parent to progeny via the egg is considered much less likely. Studies have shown that that the majority of Salmonella and Campylobacter strains do not cause disease symptoms in poultry and that between 40% and 80% of chicken flocks are Campylobacter positive. 

FDA Contract 223-81-7041, 1981. Surveillance of the Flow of Salmonella and Campylobacter in a Community. 

EL Bryan, MP Doyle. Health risks and consequences of Salmonella and Campylobacter jejuni in raw poultry. J Food Prot 58 326-344, 1995. 

Bacterial protein toxins are the most powerful human poisons and their production is generally species specific. Usually, virulent strains of the bacteria produce toxins, while non-virulent strains do not. Most cases of food poisoning are infections caused by bacteria, such as Salmonella and Campylobacter, less common, but fatal, are intoxications caused by bacteria Clostridum botulinum. Fortunately, bacterial toxins occur relatively rarely in the human diet and generally accepted hygienic limits have not been established. 

H. S. Hurd, M. B. Vaughn, D. Holtkamp, J. Dickson and L. Warnick, Quantitative risk from fluoroquinolone-resistant Salmonella and Campylobacter due to treatment of dairy heifers with enrofloxacin for bovine respiratory disease, Foodborne Pathog. Dis., 2010, 7, 1305 1322. 

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